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Alabama junior defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was presented with a pair of individual national awards Thursday night at the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which took place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga.

Alabama junior defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick was presented with a pair of individual national awards Thursday night at the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which took place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban says he was happy to get some of his less experienced players time on the field in Saturday's homecoming game against the Georgia State Panthers. Alabama won the game 45-3 and had many backup players in the game shortly after halftime. Saban seemed very pleased during his postgame news conference.

"I was really proud of the way our team came out and played today," said Saban. "...We wanted to build on the competitive momentum we established last week."

For Saban, whose goal for the team is to constantly improve, getting in-game experience for the younger players was a gift.

"It was great to be able to play a lot of players out there today. Some of them did some good things. Some of them have things we need to correct. I think the experience creates the best learning opportunity for every guy that got an opportunity to play," said Saban.

Saban praised A.J. McCarron for his performance in the game, but he lingered on the topic of backup QB Blake Sims. The coach seemed glad to give Sims a chance to test himself in the game.

Blake has made a significant improvement as a quarterback," said Saban. "...We really allowed him to run the offense."

LSU went back to work this week in preparation for the Citrus Bowl against Notre Dame. A win would be nice, but this is also a chance to get some freshman playing time to get ready for 2018. Well it'll come in practice only. "Those guys will get more reps. So I'll give them a couple of more reps at the end of a team period. It's sending the wrong message to our football team. It's all focus on winning the game. Exactly what we did last year," said LSU Head Coach Ed Org...More >>

LSU went back to work this week in preparation for the Citrus Bowl against Notre Dame. A win would be nice, but this is also a chance to get some freshman playing time to get ready for 2018. Well it'll come in practice only. "Those guys will get more reps. So I'll give them a couple of more reps at the end of a team period. It's sending the wrong message to our football team. It's all focus on winning the game. Exactly what we did last year," said LSU Head Coach Ed Org...More >>